Ginger Dressing

Ingredients

This Copycat Makoto Ginger Dressing recipe is a great addition to a plant-based diet, and will work for those who are lactose intolerant, as it’s vegan and doesn’t contain any dairy. Let’s talk a little about the ingredients here.

First thing I did was to take a look at the label for the Makoto dressing: Onions, Soybean Oil, Soy Sauce, Flavored Vinegar, Celery, Carrots, Ginger, Sugar, Tomato Paste, Cultured Dextrose, White Pepper, Hot Sauce. Well, that’s all fairly straightforward and pretty easy to work backwards from.

• Onion: I like the mellow sweetness of a yellow onion here. And the color enhances the final dressing color. Yes, you can totally sup in a white or a red onion if you want. You could also use shallots.  
• Oil: I like grapeseed oil for this dressing. Olive oil tends to solidify when stored in the fridge. Really any neutral flavored oil will work here, so use your favorite: soybean, canola, vegetable, avocado, or peanut oil. You can add stronger flavored oils like toasted sesame oil as a flavor booster, so maybe a teaspoon or two, but don’t sub a strong flavor in for all of the oil.
• Soy Sauce: Go for a low sodium soy sauce or tamari to keep the sodium levels down. Tamari or coconut aminos will also make sure that this dressing is gluten free.
• Vinegar: I suggest seasoned rice vinegar because it has great Asian flavors. White wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar will also work.
• Carrots: add the beautiful orange color and some nice sweetness to the dressing.

• Ginger: For that nice zingy flavor, and the namesake of the dressing, I went with a 1-inch piece of ginger. Peel the ginger with the side of a spoon. And you really want to use fresh ginger root for this; don’t use powdered dried ginger, it won’t have the right flavor. If you store peeled chopped ginger in the freezer like I do, you’ll want a well-rounded tablespoon, almost 2 tablespoons, full of the peeled chopped ginger root.
• Tomato Paste: Since you only need 1 tablespoon of tomato paste for this (it thickens the dressing, gives flavor, and color), I recommend buying tomato paste in a tube. That way you can store the opened tube in the fridge for another use. If you don’t want to use tomato paste, ketchup would be my next recommendation, though it will make a sweeter dressing.

How to make

Ginger Salad Dressing recipe is super easy to make. It’s the sweet and spicy dressing they serve on salads at some Japanese-American and Chinese-American restaurants.

Just give the veggies a rough chop so they fit in the blender and don’t bounce around too much.  

Then, pop all the ingredients in a blender and process. Leaving the dressing slightly chunky, don’t blend too finely (just like the bottled stuff).

You can add a little bit of water (about a tablespoon) if the dressing is too thick and needs to be thinned.

For best results, make the dressing at least an hour or two, or even the day before you plan to use it. This allows the flavors to combine nicely.

Storage

The dressing will naturally separate a bit when stored. Just give the dressing a stir, or shake well before serving.

Keep it in an airtight container like a Mason jar, in the fridge for up to a week.

For longer storage, freeze it for up to 1 month. I recommend pouring it into ice cube molds, then pop the frozen cubes in a storage bag.

Serving suggestions

Of course, you can use it on salads, especially a nice iceberg lettuce salad with some shredded carrot, a cucumber slice, and a tomato wedge. But don’t stop there.

Use it as a marinade or sauce. Marinate seafood (salmon, shrimp, or cod), tofu, or chicken in the dressing. Then use it as a finishing sauce for the protein once it’s cooked.

Toss it with cooked noodles for an easy cold noodle salad dish.

Asian slaw – just get a bag of shredded cabbage or shredded broccoli slaw and mix the dressing into it. Make a beautiful cucumber salad with sliced cukes and this dressing.

Dip veggies into the sauce as a great and healthy appetizer or snack.

Drizzle over lettuce wraps, fish tacos, or Asian bowls.

Combine it with mayo and sesame oil to get the creamy version.